i could handle sticks and stones
by tallulahs
Summary: Has Edith Crawley finally found one who returns her affections? Or will Sarah O'Brien snatch her newly found lady love from her grasp? Possibly AU, as an original character, housemaid Stella King, is introduced. Femmeslash. Possibly M in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note/Warning: I am a creative writing major with severe fic anxiety. Please alert me of discrepancies you see, other than those noted. This will not be perfect, by any means. I haven't written fanfiction in like four years. ANYWAY.**  
**Taking a small bit of liberty here with a more sudden introduction of a new housemaid at the servant's ball, I know it doesn't make sense, guess what: I DO WHAT I WANT. _Any reviews or suggestions are greatly appreciated_. **

_one  
_

Edith Crawley was her mother's least favorite daughter. It was a fact widely known, not just upstairs but below stairs as well. Occasional comments in the servant's hall, remarks of pity from a passing housemaid, were not silenced by Carson as those against Mary always were. This was, of course, when anyone mentioned her at all, for Edith had seemingly spent most of her life forgotten.

During the war, people finally took notice of the mousy middle Crawley sister; depended and relied on her. Edith suddenly had more to do than wander around the rooms of the castle, or the rooms in empty church halls, searching for the suitor that never came. During the war, she was useful; available to fetch books and other comforts for the wounded officers that had taken up residence in the family home. There had been a man, whom Edith still firmly believed was the cousin she had loved so long ago, that had shown interest in her, for a time. Her family chided her naivety, insisting that this 'Patrick' was merely an opportunist; a fortune hunter seeking her favor to avoid an almost certain life of squalor. What they didn't see was that Edith wouldn't care if the man was an imposter, he enjoyed her company- and she, his. He paid her the attentions so many men had wasted on Mary, and would have on Sybil had she not bet her lot on Branson.

But he was far gone, along with the rest of the officers she had come to know and depend on for her feelings of purpose. She supposed she shouldn't be sad over the end of a war, for it meant the safety of innocent men, but it was frustrating to return to a life in the shadows. The monotony of daily life was now maddening where before it had been pleasurable, but unlike Sybil, she had no knight in copper armor to whisk her away for more excitement.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: For the sake of this fic, basically EVERYONE IS LESBIANS. In my headcanon, Sarah is clearly head over heels for Cora. It's difficult for me to write her mooning over anyone else, but a prompt's a prompt so here we are. Sorry if it seems a bit forced.**

_two._

No one was at the back door when Stella King arrived at Downton Abbey. She waited patiently in the cold for seemingly hours before decidedly showing herself in. Stella had always been a firm believer in the concept of it being easier to ask forgiveness than permission. As she made her way down the hallway, she was headed off by a woman, pale and proud and brusque, travelling the opposite direction.

"Excuse me, ma'am, are you the housekeeper?" Stella inquired, half surprised that her voice contained a slight tremor; she was not one prone to easy nerves, and intimidation was a rare occurrence.

"Not likely. I'm Miss O'Brien, 'er Ladyship's maid. You'll be lookin' for Mrs. Hughes. But who the 'ell _are_ you?" Sarah O'Brien replied, rather irritated that she was wasting precious smoking time on this presumptuous, albeit delicate looking, stranger.

"Glad to meet you, Miss O'Brien. I'm Stella King, the new housemaid. Do you know where I might find this Mrs. Hughes or shall I have to wander the entire house myself to track 'er down?" Stella replied, regaining her usual gumption.

"Look miss, I'd love to give you a full tour of Downton, fix you a snack, and entertain you all afternoon," Sarah shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "but 'ere's the servant's ball tonight, so we're already moving double quick to get everything done in time. And I 'aven't 'ad a smoke all day."

Sarah could see a slight glaze of defeat behind the other woman's determined, blue eyes at the barb.

"Oh, alright. One cigarette and I'll show you to the pantry," Sarah relented, and dropped herself heavily into a chair.

"Might I beg one off ya?" Stella pushed, "Smoked my last sittin' outside that door in the snow."

Miss O'Brien passed one round and struck her lighter, moving to light it for the other woman. The random urge confused Sarah, who tended to keep a solid two feet between herself and anyone excepting Thomas and her Ladyship.

"Thank you," the new maid said, curtly, exhaling.

The two women were seated side by side, making it difficult for Sarah to give the other her usual assessment. She stared Stella down with her peripherals, cataloguing each aspect in case it proved useful later. Stella was thin, but not quite like Daisy. She held her petite arms up with a delicacy generally unseen in a housemaid, but in a manner quite like O'Brien herself. The hardened, but not quite unpleasant expression she wore said she was a woman who knew what she wanted, and tended not to stand for others blocking her path. Her auburn hair was braided and wrapped into a knot at the base of her hairline, pinned prettily but with no real frills. Her lips were poised, as though always on the brink of a phrase; of a thought one's thought better of sharing.

She was, thought Sarah, letting the nicotine take hold of her brain, in fact quite lovely. Stella wasn't nearly quite as pretty as her Ladyship, but in a very different way, equally attractive. She crushed the end of her cigarette and tossed it in the bin, shaking herself from the slight daze. There were not enough moments in the day to waste anymore on this stranger.

Sarah O'Brien stood up abruptly, and she was off, motioning for Stella to follow, "C'mon then, I 'aven't got all day. Pantry's this way."


End file.
